US: Nancy Pelosi says interim house speaker McHenry asked her to vacate her Capitol office

WASHINGTON: Just hours after taking over as interim Speaker, Patrick McHenry (Speaker Pro Tem) instructed former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to leave her Capitol office so he could take it over, according to The Hill.

Following the first-ever vote to remove a Speaker from office on Tuesday, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was replaced as Speaker by McHenry. McCarthy served as House Speaker for 269 days before being removed.

His tenure began on January 7, 2023, and lasted until Tuesday (US local time)- the second-shortest for a speaker in the country's history. The mutiny, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), came days after McCarthy averted a government shutdown by putting a stopgap measure on the floor that garnered Democratic support -- a move that infuriated hardline Republicans.

McHenry's office asked Pelosi to leave her Capitol hideaway office by Wednesday because it was being repurposed "for speaker office use." There are a few "hideaway offices" inside the Capitol Building for top legislators.

Notably, Pelosi maintains her regular office in the Longworth House office building. After the announcement from McHenry, Pelosi said in a statement late Tuesday that she was not in Washington, DC, to immediately move her belongings.

Just after 6 o'clock on Tuesday evening, an email was sent from McHenry's office to Pelosi's office, and on examining the same, American broadcaster CNN confirmed the statement that read: "Going to reassign h-132 for speaker office use. Please vacate the space tomorrow."

Late on Tuesday, Pelosi issued a statement denouncing the proposal. "With all of the important decisions that the new Republican Leadership must address, which we are all eagerly awaiting, one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker Pro Tempore was to order me to immediately vacate my office in the Capitol," she said, adding that, "This eviction is a sharp departure from tradition."

She further added, "As Speaker, I gave former Speaker Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished." Pelosi urged McHenry and House Republicans to concentrate on legislation instead.

"Office space doesn't matter to me, but it seems to be important to them. Now that the new Republican Leadership has settled this important matter, let's hope they get to work on what's truly important for the American people," she said, according to The Hill.

Pelosi is in California in advance of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) memorial ceremonies later this week. Tuesday's move to vacate was not put to a vote by her. Veteran Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away at the age of 90, US-based ABC7 news reported citing a confirmation from her office on Friday last week.

Following her demise, James Sauls, the chief of staff to Sen. Feinstein, released a statement that read, "Sadly, Senator Feinstein passed away last night at her home in Washington, D.C.

Her passing is a great loss for so many, from those who loved and cared for her to the people of California that she dedicated her life to serving," reported ABC7 news. In 1960, Feinstein made her first venture into politics when then-Gov.

Pat Brown chose her to serve on the California Women's Parole Board. Feinstein was appointed following the tragic murder of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone by Supervisor Dan White in 1978. Feinstein was elected mayor for the first time in 1979 and immediately set about changing the city.